We took a Grab (like an Uber) from our homestay to Kuching city, our next Borneo destination. The ride from the Santubong Peninsula took around 30 minutes.
Kuching is the capital of Sarawak and can be used as a base from which to take day trips to surrounding attractions.
The Darul Hana Bridge is for pedestrians and was completed in 2017. This links the north and south sides of the city and offers great views.
Kuching means cat in Malay and there are several cat statues and features around the city. It is believed the city got its name when an Englishman called James Brooke, the first Rajah of Sarawak, arrived in the city in 1839. He pointed to the settlement to ask what it was called but a local thought he was pointing to a cat, kucing!
Built by Indian Muslims, the Masjid Bander Mosque was constructed in 1837 which makes it the oldest mosque in the state. You are able to visit the mosque but women will need to have arms, legs and head coverings.
There is a large Chinese community in Kuching although the largest percentage of the Sarawak population is the Ibans who are native to Borneo.
Situated behind the government building is the colourful orchid park. This was free to enter and we enjoyed wandering around looking at lovely well maintained gardens and orchids. The Normah orchid is the state flower of Sarawak.
We visited the Borneo Cultures Museum which was 50 RM for adults (me) and 25 RM for seniors (Chris 🤭), so around £12.60 for us both. This is housed in a large 5 story modern building.
Sunhats are produced by the Melanau communities of Sarawak and are made from nipa or sago palm leaves.
After sowing paddy seeds, traditional masks are worn during dance rituals. We saw a large number of traditional artefacts and learned a great deal about the fascinating history of Borneo.
I didn’t take many photos in the museum but we would highly recommend a visit to learn more about the culture and interesting history of Sarawak.
Orangutans
Semenggoh Wildlife Centre is a 35 minute drive from Kuching and is one of the best places to see orangutans in the semi wild in their natural rainforest habitat. We had planned to get a taxi there but unfortunately we had torrential rain and apparently the chances of seeing them in the rain is very low. We’re hoping to see them later in the trip perhaps when we go north to Sabah.
And we’re both thankful that for the first half of the trip this has been the first time we’ve had any day time rain.
Once the rain had stopped we went for another walk around Kuching starting off in search of the most famous of the cat statues although when we did find it, it was pretty garish and underwhelming.
The little group of life size bronze cat statues in front of the James Brooke cafe were more tasteful!
In search of a skybar and the possibility of happy hour we came across the 23 story Sheraton hotel. They did have a skybar and we were allowed to take the lift to the top floor but the bar was closed for a private function.
Plan B was the Granary, a quirky bar and restaurant in a historic building that was once an old granary. However, apparently not only did it store grains, a century ago it was also used for storing contraband such as alcohol, cigarettes and drugs.
In the Granary we shared a small bottle of Headhunters Sarawak rice wine. This had a slight ginger flavour and is named after the headhunters of Sarawak which is pretty gruesome.
One hundred years ago, indigenous tribes fought each other and would collect the head of an enemy or go out and kill someone to bring their head or skull back to the tribe as a trophy.
Headhunting was eradicated by ‘white Rajah’ James Brooke.
Night time in Kuching
Our Lonely Planet Borneo guide book recommended the Riverside Majestic Skybar which was a 10 minute walk from our hotel.
We were delighted to find that we were still in time for happy hour which extends until 9 pm and meant buy one get one free! We had two glasses of Sauvignon Blanc each and the total cost for these 4 glasses for £10.50!
We sat in the open air section of the skybar overlooking the fabulous view of the city.
We were late leaving the Skybar as by now it was nearly 10 pm (late for us) and we hadn’t yet had dinner. The nearby James Brooke cafe was open and I had the most delicious vegetable curry which was served with steamed rice for just 30 RM (£5.00). Highly recommended!
Every evening there is a fountain display in front of the government building at 7.30 pm and 8.30 pm. On Fridays and Saturdays this is also at 10.30 pm.
Astana is a palace which was built in 1869 by Charles Brooke. It can be seen from across the river but is closed to the public.
On the Saturday night a lengthy parade of floats and people wearing colourful costumes passed by along the road.
Accommodation
We stayed in the Ranee Boutique hotel which had a great location along the river front at Main Bazaar Street which was close to the Borneo museum and the Darul Hana Bridge.
We recommend this clean, modern hotel with its huge bedroom, huge bathroom and excellent shower. The staff were so helpful and welcoming at all times.
Summary
As a modern and well maintained city Kuching was worth a visit for a couple of nights. It was disappointing not to see the orangutans but this is often the case with travel which can be a matter of luck especially when the weather is involved.
frombluetogreen.com 